That’s nothing new for the Clemson basketball team, which has emerged as a popular pick to lose to New Mexico State Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Several national pundits and publications, including The New York Times, have deemed the No. 5 seeded Tigers’ match-up against the 12th seed Aggies as a likely upset in what has become a notable trend. In the past five years, 10 No. 12 seeds have knocked off No. 5 seeds in opening-round play.

“We don’t really get into the media talk like that,” junior guard Marcquise Reed said. “We just try to focus on us.”

Being underestimated is nothing new to Coach Brad Brownell’s team. The Tigers were picked to finish 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll and wound up tied for third place in the league’s final standings.

Clemson will take a No. 20 ranking and 23-9 record into its first NCAA Tournament game since 2011, Brownell’s first season.

“I think our guys are aware that very few people have believed in our team for months now, it’s not just one game or one week,” said Brownell, whose team will tip-off Friday night at 9:57 p.m. EST in the final game of first-round action. “We talked about it a little bit, but for us it’s more about us believing in ourselves and believing in what we do and who we are, and we’ve had to do that twice – at the beginning of the season and again after Donte Grantham’s injury. That’s one reason I’m proud of our team.”

So can the Tigers turn that lack of respect into motivation?

“I think the media overplays all that,” Brownell said. “You can tell your players that, but after one hit in football or one trip down the court in basketball, the players don’t remember any of those things and none of that matters. It’s about playing and executing your plan.”

For Clemson, that means playing solid defense and keeping the 28-5 Aggies from dominating the boards. New Mexico State ranks third nationally in rebounding at more than 41 per game.

The Tigers enter the game as a five-point favorite according to Vegas oddsmakers, but that’s the lowest point spread among the four No. 5 vs. No. 12 matchups.

Perhaps that’s what prompted The New York Times, citing Clemson’s 4-8 record against ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament, to classify the game as an “an upset we think could hit.”

No problem, says Brownell.

“I told them after Selection Sunday that we can be as successful as we want to be,” Brownell said. “We’re good enough, but we have to play really good basketball because all the teams we’re going to play now are here for a reason.

“I don’t think it matters if somebody doesn’t pick us or a couple people don’t pick us or we’re the 5 vs. 12 that everybody’s looking at that’s going to be upset. I don’t think that’s a huge bearing on my guys playing harder or practicing harder. Our guys are motivated to play well and practice well because they want to win for them, not to prove somebody else wrong.”